1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to the field of wireless communication, and more particularly to selectively activating and deactivating a power amplifier in a wireless device for controlling the power of a data transmit signal.
2. Related Art
The maximum rate of data transfer (measured as megabits per second (Mbps), for example) from a wireless transmitting device to a receiving device may be dependent upon one or more of the following: the communication protocol, the antenna configurations of the devices, the quality of the communication channel, the power level of the transmitted signal, whether the receiving device includes a power amplifier, the distance between the devices, and other factors. Devices are configured to transfer (transmit and receive) data up to a maximum data transfer rate that is typically specified by the communication protocol used. Many transmitting devices include a power amplifier to increase the strength of the data transmit signal. The increased strength of the transmit signal helps increase the data transfer rate up to the maximum (i.e., rated) data transfer rate.
The power amplifier in a transmitting device continuously consumes a significant amount of power. For example, a power amplifier in a wireless local area network (WLAN) chip may consume more than fifty percent of the total power supplied to the chip in transmit mode. As a result, the continuous operation of the power amplifier significantly decreases the battery life of the device. An improved approach is desirable.